JPH0226879Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present application relates to a control meter that is used particularly at a gas station to control the amount of oil in an oil storage tank.

(b) Conventional technology At business establishments that store oil, such as gas stations, the amount of oil in each tank is always managed using a control meter, and when the remaining amount decreases, oil is brought in by tank truck or other vehicle to replenish the oil. are doing. In this case, since the amount of oil to be replenished varies depending on the tank, great care is taken when filling the oil, but sometimes people mistakenly fill the tank with oil and fill it with more oil than the space capacity of the tank, causing it to overflow. I had an accident where I ended up in a car. Additionally, the type of oil to be supplied differs depending on the tank, and a mistake in filling the tank could result in the oil becoming unusable.

Therefore, we combined the operation of the ticket (Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-188699), confirmation switches installed in various places (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 59-15092), and sensor output changes (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 59-102629), etc. Systems to eliminate "mistakes" are being considered by each company, and some are being implemented.

(c) Problems that the invention aims to solve However, in some gas stations, multiple tanks are connected by siphon pipes, and in such cases, the tank that is filled with oil is connected to all the tanks by siphon pipes. As the amount of oil in the tank increases, the management system of the previously proposed or implemented system has the inconvenience of issuing an alarm for the wrong tank. A memory circuit is installed to remember whether the tank is connected or not, so that even if the amount of oil in a tank other than the specified tank increases, an alarm will not be issued if the oil level corresponds to a previously stored tank. However, it would be undesirable in terms of cost to install this circuit in advance in all control meters, and it would be undesirable in terms of production management to make some models with the circuit installed and others without it. Another method is to modify the wiring so that when the switch corresponding to the tank you are trying to lubricate is operated, the switches corresponding to other tanks connected to that tank through a siphon pipe are also operated at the same time. However, in this case, the situation is the same as if multiple switches were operated at the same time, and the check mechanism that is implemented to prevent erroneous operation of the switches is also involved, and the modification work itself to add wiring must be done at the installation site. The problem arises that specialized engineers have to go to the site.

Therefore, the applicant first proposed that even if the oil level of a tank other than the designated tank changes, if the change starts after the change of the designated tank, the oil level of the tank connected by the siphon pipe will start to change. We developed an oil flow control gauge that does not issue an alarm when it is judged that
60−10826 proposed.

However, the movement of liquid through the siphon pipe may continue for a long time even after lubrication has finished, and in this case, the liquid level in other tanks may be changing by the time the next tank is designated. A warning may be issued.

(d) Structure and operation for solving the problem The present application does not require the installation of the memory circuit or the on-site visit of a specialist engineer, and can be handled with one type of model regardless of whether or not there is a siphon tube. This paper proposes a control system that can solve the problems associated with the application of , which includes a liquid level sensor and tank designation switch provided for each tank, a notification means,
It consists of a liquid level sensor and a control means that selects and operates the notification means based on the output signal from the switch.If you operate the switch to specify the tank before starting to fill the tank,
It will notify you when the output signal of a sensor in a tank other than the specified tank changes, but on the other hand, if the oil level in a tank other than the specified tank changes while the oil level in the specified tank changes, it will notify you of the change in oil level in the former and latter tank. In comparison, when the former has changed more than the latter, the notification is not made even if there is a change in a tank other than the designated tank.

(E) Example In Fig. 1, T ₁ , T ₂ , and T ₃ are sensor signals that detect the amount of oil stored in the tank and correspond to the amount of oil stored.
A sensor S ₁ , which outputs a ₁ , a ₂ , and a ₃ and has a structure described later,
S ₂ , S ₃ and oil fill ports N ₁ , N ₂ , N ₃ are installed.

D ₁ and D ₂ are oil supply machines each having a built-in pump and flow meter (both not shown).

P ₁ is a suction pipe connecting tank T ₁ and refueling machine D ₁ , P ₂
It is also a suction pipe, one end of which is connected to _the siphon pipe _P3 that connects tanks _T2 and _T3 , and the other end is connected to the refueling machine _D2 , which is used to refuel. In this case, oil from both tanks T ₂ and T ₃ will be sucked. At this time, even if more oil in one tank is suctioned than the other tank, as time passes, the oil in the tank with the higher oil level will flow through the siphon pipe _P3 to the lower tank in both tanks. The oil level of is the same.

B is a control unit installed in an out-of-the-way place such as an office, and the panel surface 2 has a display 4,
6, 8, an alarm 10, a printer 12, and a print start switch 14, which will be described later, are provided.

C is the operation unit installed at the site, such as near the oil filler port, and is the switch 1 corresponding to tanks T ₁ , T ₂ , and T _3.
6, 18, 20 and an alarm 11 are provided, and when these switches 16, 18, 20 are operated, one of the tank designation signals t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ corresponding to the designated tank is emitted. is output.

Figure 2 shows the sensors S ₁ , S ₂ , and S ₃ in Figure 1.
The structure of a capacitive sensor is shown as an example (all of them are the same), and a tubular first electrode ER ₁ is connected to a junction box SB that connects signal lines between each electrode and a control unit B, which will be described later. are extended, and spacers SP ₁ and SP ₂ made of electrically insulating material are placed on the outside.
a tubular second electrode separated by a fixed distance;
ER ₂ is deployed.

SG is an insulating tube made of electrically insulating material that is installed in the space between electrode ER ₁ and electrode ER ₂ .
This prevents short circuits between ER ₁ and ER ₂ due to conductive dust or water droplets, and a thin, flexible Teflon tube is used for coating in place of the tube SG. It is also possible to adopt and install the following.

H ₁ , H ₂ , H ₃ , H ₄ , H ₅ are each electrode ER ₁ ,
ER ₂ and a hole drilled in pipe SG for air and oil to pass through, F is a float valve with a specific gravity smaller than that of oil, ST
is a stopper that limits the rise of float valve F,
CP is a removable blind lid that isolates the internal space ERS of electrode ER ₁ from the outside world. When draining water accumulated in the tank, remove lid CP and pass through at least the suction pipe SK as shown by the two-dot chain line. Insert it until it closes hole _H1 . At this time, the float valve F has risen to the position where it contacts the stopper ST, so it does not interfere with the water draining operation. In addition, if conductive dust or water droplets adhere to each electrode ER ₁ , ER ₂ or pipe SG due to long-term use and interfere with oil storage measurement, remove the lid CP and pump compressed air or oil from there to remove the dust. and water droplets. At this time, the float valve F is pushed down to the state shown in FIG. 2, and the fed air and oil descend through the holes _H1 and _H2 and are discharged from the holes _H4 and _H5 . Note that since the through hole H ₃ is extremely small compared to the through holes H ₁ and H ₂ , the amount leaking from there is only a small amount.

In FIG. 3, 22, 24, and 26 are signal conversion circuits, which receive the sensor signals a ₁ , a ₂ , and a ₃ and convert them into numerical signals e ₁ , e ₂ , and e ₃ to output the signals to the displays 4 , 6 , and
8 to display the numerical value as the amount of oil stored.

Numerals 28, 30, and 32 are arithmetic circuits, respectively, which receive data from the clock signal generation circuit 34 for a certain period of time (for example, 5
The clock signal c output every second) and the numerical signals e ₁ , e ₂ , e ₃ are input to each tank at the fixed time interval (from when the clock signal c is input until the next input). The change in oil amount (for example, the changed oil amount) is calculated and the calculated value signals p ₁ , p ₂ ,
Output as p ₃ .

38 is a comparison circuit, which functions as follows.

Which of the tank designation signals t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ output from the operation unit C corresponding to the designated tank,
Calculated value signals p ₁ , p ₂ , p ₃ representing changes in oil storage amount
is input and the calculated value signal of a tank other than the designated tank changes, the alarm 10 outputs a notification signal f,
11 to notify you of a mistake in lubrication.

However, even if the calculated value signal of a tank other than the designated tank changes, the setting circuit 38 does not output the notification signal f when it is determined that the change value is smaller than the change value of the designated tank.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a printer drive circuit, which receives numerical signals e ₁ , e ₂ , e ₃ when the switch 14 is operated, causes the printer 12 to print them, and outputs the amount of oil stored as a hard copy.

In the above configuration, when unloading oil from a tank truck (not shown) to a tank, first the switch on the operating section C is operated to specify the tank to be filled with oil. For example, when filling the tank _T1 with oil, the switch 16 is pressed to output the tank designation signal _t1 , and the oil is filled from the oil filling port _N1 .

As the oil filling progresses, the sensor signal _a1 output from the sensor _S1 changes according to the amount of oil in the tank _T1 , and the amount of oil is displayed numerically on the display 4.
At this time, the numerical value signal e ₁ is input to the arithmetic circuit 28, so here, as described above, the change during the interval at which the clock signal c is input is calculated, and the calculated value signal p ₁ is calculated.
The signal is output to the comparator circuit 28 as a signal. Here signal p ₁
Since the signal is from the tank _T1 , the notification signal f is not output regardless of the value of the signal _p1 . However, when the tank _T2 is filled with oil by mistake, the calculated value signal _p1 does not change and only the calculated value signal _p2 changes significantly, so the notification signal f is output and an alarm is issued.

Next, operate switch 18 to select tank designation signal t ₂
Let's talk about the case where tank T ₂ is filled with oil by outputting .The oil amount in tank T ₂ increases rapidly, but at this time, the oil in tank T ₂ flows through a thin siphon pipe P ₃ to tank T ₃ .
The amount of oil in tank _T3 increases slowly. In other words, the calculated value signal _p2 starts to change greatly at the same time as oil is added, but the calculated value signal _p3 changes only gradually, and since the value of this signal _p3 is smaller than the value of the signal _p2 , As mentioned above, in this case, even if the calculated value signal _p3 changes, the alarms 10 and 1
1 is not operated. Furthermore, when the oil filling in tank T ₂ is finished, the oil level in tank T ₂ becomes higher than the oil level in tank T ₃ , and the oil in tank T ₂ moves to tank T ₃ through siphon pipe P ₃ . Since the oil in tank T ₃ increases by the amount of oil in tank T ₂ that decreases, the values of the calculated value signals p ₂ and p ₃ may have positive or negative differences, but their absolute values are the same, so there is no difference between them. No alarm is output. This also applies when the oil level in the tank T ₂ rises when the switch 20 is operated to output the tank designation signal t ₃ and the tank T ₃ is filled with oil.

In this embodiment, the numerical signals e ₁ , e ₂ , e ₃ are input to the calculation circuits 28 , 30 , 32 , but sensor signals a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ are input instead. The contents of the calculated value signals p ₁ , p ₂ , p ₃ may be values related to depth as well as values related to quantity.

Furthermore, in addition to outputting an alarm when lubrication is incorrect, it is also possible to forcibly stop lubrication by installing a solenoid valve in the lubrication port or conduit on the lorry side, for example, and closing the valve.

(F) Effect As detailed above, even if the liquid level in a tank other than the designated tank fluctuates, if the change in oil level is larger in the designated tank, the alarm will not be issued, so siphon piping was installed. Even if a tank is installed, there is no need to install a new memory circuit in the control meter or to modify the circuit on site by a specialist engineer, so it can be installed with or without siphon piping, and is inexpensive. This provides a control device that can prevent false alarms without impairing the function of preventing incorrect lubrication.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the entire system, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the sensor, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit in the control section. T ₁ , T ₂ , T ₃ ... Tank, D ₁ , D ₂ ... Refueling machine,
ER ₁ , ER ₂ ... Electrode, F ... Float valve, SG ...
...Insulation tube, B...Control unit, C...Operation unit, 10,
11... Alarm.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Each sensor is installed in each tank to detect the oil level height or oil amount in each tank and generates a corresponding output signal, and the switch and alarm installed corresponding to each tank to generate a tank designation signal. and generating an alarm signal when the switch corresponding to the tank to be lubricated is operated in advance before lubricating the tank, and the output signal of a sensor of a tank other than the specified tank changes during lubricating. on the other hand, when the oil amount in an unspecified tank changes while the oil amount in the designated tank is changing, the oil amount changes in the former and the latter are compared and the former changes more than the latter. and a comparison means that does not generate the notification signal even if there is a change in a tank other than the designated tank.